Renowned philosopher and Simone Weil expert Rebecca Rozelle-Stone will deliver Australian Catholic University’s 2026 Simone Weil Lecture in Human Value next month.
Dr Rozelle-Stone will give a two-part free public lecture on violence, the good, and radical friendship, inspired by one of Weil’s most celebrated works, the essay The Iliad or The Poem of Force“.
For her first lecture in Brisbane on August 18, Dr Rozelle-Stone will explore the phenomenon of force in a technology-dominated and power-obsessed world. Her second lecture in Melbourne on August 20 will then analyse Weil’s ideas on friendship as a remedy to political impotence, fear, and passivity.
“It can often feel like philosophy is impotent to neutralise a violent world,” Dr Rozelle-Stone said.
“We need to think about the power of philosophy on a more local level, beginning with our closest associates – how we use or don’t use power in our personal relationships, or how we might approach friendships in a way that centres truth as opposed to just comfort.”
Initially challenged by the radical ideas of Simone Weil, Dr Rozelle-Stone is now a leading expert on the French philosopher, having written and edited numerous books and chapters on her and her philosophical vision.
“While my philosophical interests have been expansive in my 20-plus year career, as I get deeper into issues of concern in our world, I keep being drawn back to Weil and her writings for their incisive analyses and diagnoses,” Dr Rozelle-Stone said.
“Weil is a unique figure who truly embodied her ideas, like attention, even to the extent that this arguably brought about her death at age 34.”
The University of North Dakota professor is the editor and author of several books on Simone Weil, including A Very Short Introduction: Simone Weil, and served as the Vice President and President of the American Weil Society.
The 26th Simone Weil Lecture is hosted by ACU’s School of Philosophy, and honours one of the most influential 20th-century thinkers of philosophy, religion, spirituality and politics.
Executive Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy, Professor Richard Colledge, said the university was thrilled to host one of the world’s leading experts on Simone Weil.
Details and registrations: ACU.
FULL STORY
